What lies beneath
by ohbrothamybrotha
Summary: After the disappearance of an old friend, Kai searches for clues to discover what secrets are lurking in Mineral Town.
1. Chapter 1

Terrence Tristan Phelps was a strange boy. There was no doubt about that. Upon coming to mineral town that first day of spring, he had not once mentioned the city or friends he left behind, nor had he ever received any letters from friends or family. Always giving slight paranoid glances around town and never having any back ground stories to tell the villagers, rumors were often spread about him, rumors of what his life was probably like before he came to this village. A lot of them were harmless really. Maybe he was a bakers son, maybe he was just a homeless man looking for a new life. Some of the juicier stories involved him trying to run from a marriage or perhaps unexpected children, and a few more were of him being possibly gay. However, the young farmer minded to himself and kept to his work, just letting the villagers believe what they wanted. As long as they minded their manners and were not rude to him, he would treat them with respect and be all too polite. Terrence didn't want a life of gossip and mistrust, for as far as he was concerned his life was all around average. He said he had a dull and boring life, so why talk about it, right? To Kai, the young sailor that passed by every summer, it seemed a normal response.

Of course to him, any response was one he'd heard somewhere before. He traveled the world enough to know that people had their own secrets and history that they didn't want to speak about. It was only normal really to have secrets. And it was only fair to respect the man and not hold anything against him. But in this town, things got boring pretty damn fast. And really who's business was any of those secrets but the secret keeper himself right? Right. Kai never once butted in nor asked the young farmer much of anything. It wasn't his business, as simple as that. It seemed he was the only one who didn't though, which was probably why the two were so close.

"another wine, please doug." Kai watched Terrence drinking down the wine like a fish and shook his head as he scoffed a laugh.

"it's not even noon." he muttered through a toothy grin. "you're going to have people talking that you're an alcoholic, terry." terry was the nickname everyone had come to know the farmer by. It was truly fitting and suitable, but it was often made fun of by the local children seeing as they were absolutely sure that name was for girls. The farmer did not seem to mind, and even played along with them, telling them that he was a secret goddess in the form of a boy's body. They only laughed harder at this. Kai laughed too when he had heard it. Terry might be mysterious but he was no goddess. For one thing, he wasn't even a girl.

"ah but what if I am an alcoholic." terry asked with his bright blue eyes searching the bar as he swirled around in his seat. "I might have been in another life." in another life. Those were terry's favorite words. It was almost as if he actually believed in other lives, even when he said he didn't. according to him "in another life" he'd have been several things. One of those things being a sailor, a soldier, a bartender, and even a house wife. Now an alcoholic. Kai was more than sure, he was using the "in another life" excuse to try out things he wouldn't normally try, which was no big deal really. After all, it was the first thing he had ever said to him the first day kai met him. The first time he'd spoken to him was to question why he was trying out being a new farmer here. And the first words that came out of Terry's mouth were "I might have been a farmer in another life." it made the sailor wonder if the boy was truly happy with the life he had. Having to constantly suggest what other lives he might have had…well…you had to be unhappy about something that happened to you.

"well, you're no alcoholic in this life, Terry. You don't even drink socially at times." why the farmer was choosing today to get wasted at eleven thirty in the morning, kai wasn't too sure. It was near the end of summer and this was the first time he had ever seen terry actually drinking. The guy was sucking it down though, you wouldn't believe it from the farmer unless you've seen it yourself. Terry smiled at him and stood up, taking the wine in his hands and stumbling a bit as he staggered towards the door. Kai only sighed and followed him, just sort of walking behind him. "where are you going?"

"out." out was…an unusual response. Considering "out" usually meant out into town to go into the local bar or perhaps some place else. He wasn't too sure. He watched as the farmer tripped over his feet, and near laughed at him when he leaned against the wall. "shit." he glanced up at the sailor and gave a weak smile. "are you really leaving next Sunday?" kai was taken back by this answer, having felt like he had known the farmer his whole life, he almost forgot that Terry was new to mineral town. He gave a sad nod and the farmer seemed unhappy with the response. "you should stay all year long, kai. It's bad for business if you just leave."

"it'll be worse for business if I don't." kai mumbled with a small smile plastered on his face. "you wont miss me will you?" of course, kai would miss the farmer. Terry was quite a charming and funny guy. Plus they had the same taste in food. Being from the city, terry loved Kai's cooking. Often said it was just like home.

"naaah, get out of here with your…purple ass." Kai chuckled and walked towards the farmer, pulling his arm over the boys body and slinging Terry's arm over his neck. He graduly started walking him towards the farm and helped him to his house.

"You'll be alright without me." he knew that for sure. Terrence had lived his whole life without him after all. "Just wait till summer comes and I'll be back before you know it." as he steadied him into the house, he sat the boy down and the young farmer nodded to him. "then you'll be sick of me." he stifled a laugh and nodded as if to agree.

"are you taking popuri with you?" he asked leaning his head on his hand. For a moment, Kai was taken back by this question. Popuri. He had planned to take her. He really had. Even against her brothers will, he wanted to take her…actually against her brothers will was one of the reasons. But he had asked her and she said no. it was too soon to think about running away with him right now. With the little money they had, he couldn't very well expect to take care of them both. Besides her father had written a message saying that he was coming home. She hadn't seen him in goddess knew how long.

"No…No she's staying here." Kai could see confusion sweeping the farmers face, and he gave a slight shrug. "she…her father will be coming in a few weeks. She wants to meet up with him again." he seemed to take this as an appropriate response and nodded as well. "Well, I need to head on back home. You go easy on the booze there man." as kai started for the door, he heard the young farmer grumbling a soft goodbye and a request to come back before he left for good. He nodded and went about his own way.

A few days later he was ready to leave, having said his good byes to everyone in the village, he met up with popuri and terry last. His two closest friends of mineral town, and perhaps the closest friends he'd ever had. Saying his good byes to both of them, he felt all too sad boarding the ship that day. Popuri looked as sad as she always did when watching him leave. But she tried to look mature and strong regardless of the tears swelling up in her eyes. A thought swept over the man, a horrible thought as he waved his good byes out to them. This might be the last time you ever see her again. Kai frowned at the thought and tried to push it to the back of his head. Never in his life had a thought that horrifying ever occurred to him before…but he couldn't let it get to him. Not when there was work to be done and new places to see. A thought that tragic would only get in the way of progress, and besides he'd see popuri grinning happily and cheery a few months from now, looking as beautiful as ever. After all, it was only a thought…right?

Or was it.


	2. Chapter 2

It's been a month since Kai left, and he still hadn't received any letters in the mail from Popuri. Actually, he hadn't received any from anyone in the village. Normally he could care less about not getting mail, but the fact that it was out of character for popuri caused him to feel distressed as hell. He had written to her, asking if she was alright, if everything was alright, and he'd even sent her a few packages in the mail in hopes that she'd get them and write back. Come early fall in the town he was in, he was closing up shop two weeks ahead of time and going completely off schedule. It would be spring in mineral town right now, and still too chilly for his taste, but he was worried. If popuri was alright, he'd stay there for two nights only and make a fast pace back to valley springs to have a late opening for summer. As long as she was alright the trip would be worth the trouble. As his ship docked the harbor, the sailor made his way along the beach only to find it near deserted and not very well taken care of. He shuddered to think maybe they leave it like this for three months and just clean up when spring is near over. And here he was thinking they kept their town clean. He headed into town and down the street getting strange looks from the local women. Sasha and Manna gave him crude stares, and already he felt sick to his stomach. As he reached the poultry farm, he knocked on the door and a strong looking man with ginger red hair opened up. It must be Popuri's father. "hello sir." he seemed sad.

"Can I help you?" the man mumbled through a suspicious stare. Kai gave a soft nod and cleared his throat.

"I'm um….I was wondering if I could speak to Popuri." He didn't know if it was his imagination, but the man seemed to wince with what he said. "I'm…looking for her. You must be her dad. She was really excited to see you again." the man started to speak but just as he said two words, the door swung open more and rick's face came into view.

"who are you talking to, dad?" his eyes darted from the older man to kai, and immediately hatred swelled in his features. Kai was used to this scowl of course, but what rick did next completely threw the boy off. In two split seconds, rick pounced on the boy and sent him flying into the dirt, punching him once in the nose before grabbing him by the shirt. "WHERE IS SHE!?" kai didn't get a chance to ask questions before he was bashed in the face again by the boy. "WHAT DID YOU DO WITH POPURI!" Kai scowled and pushed the boy off quickly scrambling to his feet as he spat out traces of blood and spit. Rick scrambled to his feet as well but was stopped by his old man, whom of which kai was now grateful was here.

"Rick, stop it! There's no need for this violence. I know you were raised better than this boy!" and with those words, the young boy was knocked upside the back of his head. Kai would have laughed at this if the situation had called for it. But his mind was still on Rick's questions.

"Popuri isn't home?" he gave a worried look to the older man and watched him shake his head. Fear swelled in his chest as he looked at the two of them. "what….what do you mean!?" Rick's anger broke out and he lashed out at the boy.

"You stole her away from us!" he scowled and kai shook his head.

"n-no no. I didn't…she never went with me last summer." Kai spoke as his eyes darted from rick to his father. "she wanted to stay here to see you." As he glanced back to rick, the door opened up and Lillian walked out. She looked worse than when he had last seen her. Her skin was more pale and her eyes were tired. She was even getting gray hairs at the tips of her head.

"Honey who is there?" her bright red eyes searched Kai's face and sadness swelled over it.

"Ma'am I'm sorry…I had no idea popuri was…missing."

Her eyes became misty as she pushed the bangs from her face. "so she's…not with you then." Kai gave a solemn head shake and lowered his head to the ground. Lillian raised a hand to her mouth to keep from sobbing, but she couldn't control the tears from swelling at each corner of her eyes nor could she stop her body from trembling. Seeing Lillian crying was by far the most depressing kai had ever seen. He never wanted to see popuri's mom crying…especially not over the loss of her own daughter. The boy could only stand there as rick pushed his mother back inside trying to comfort her, and his father stood out and stared at the boy with an unfriendly gaze.

"I am…truly sorry sir." so that feeling in the pit of his stomach the day he left…It was something he should have worried about.

"Are you…the boy who sent all those letters to my daughter then? Over the month? I must have received at least six." Kai blinked and gave a soft nod. "I see…well, I didn't open them…I figured…Popuri could when she came home. I also didn't tell my son about them. I saw…no point in worrying him further…." he looked back to the door and opened it. "do you want to come in?"

"No…thank you sir." Kai began as his eyes darted around the area. "I have a few friends to see….Sir do you know…anything about what might have happened?" the old man shook his head and Kai gave a slight nod then headed off towards the farmers place. Thoughts raced in his head of the different options. Popuri might have had. God he couldn't believe this was actually happening.

As he headed down to Terry's, he knocked on the door and the farmer opened up with a confused stare. Before kai could explain, the farmer lunged himself in the sailor in a tight hug. "oh man, kai…it's so fucking good to see you dude."

"aaahh…g-good to see you too man." he grumbled unable to catch his breath. "you…you're crushing me."

"right, sorry." Terry let up with a slight grin, though it seemed empty. "how….what the hell are you doing here man?"

"I um…." kai began not even knowing where to start. "I was worried about popuri…she didn't write me back with her letters…I didn't….get any letters from anyone actually." at this the farmer seemed to look a bit guilty. "Not that…I mind really, I just….was used to it. I thought maybe something had happened…I can see now…I was right." Terry hung his head and gave a soft wimper. Kai blinked and frowned at him. "you alright man?"

"I-…..I was…with her right before…" he glanced at kai with tear stained eyes and gave a soft sob. "She…It was right after you left, she said…she wanted to head to the spring…I-I went on home and didn't even think to walk with her I could have stopped-"

"hey man." the young sailor drew a hand around his friends shoulder and pulled him into a close one armed embrace. "don't talk like that it wasn't your fault."

"I could've stopped anything bad from happening but I didn't." Kai shook his head and began pushing the farmer inside.

"It isn't your fault…" he grumbled sitting Terry down at the table. He sat as well and gave a soft sigh. "so was this…did she disappear the day I left?" The farmer nodded and brushed his hands through his short brown hair.

"She said she wanted to be alone…said she was going to the spring. I figured it'd be alright because she's always at the spring. I had to go and order some food for my cows and sheep from barley so I went there first. It took nearly a full day to load all the hay stacks and everything, so I was too busy to go check on her." he let out another soft sigh and shook his head. "I should have gone to check on her. Maybe she'd still be here…" Kai frowned and crossed his arms over his chest leaning back in his seat.

"She wouldn't have ran away." he grumbled remembering how excited the young girl was when news of her father came around.

"Doug and Ann both think she did." Terry muttered through a solemn gaze. "Karen doesn't believe she ran away, and Rick's family figured she ran off with you. I tried to tell them that she and I both saw you off…they even suspected me of kidnapping her, but lucky for me Barley stepped up for me. They'd have run me out of town just like old man Gotz." Kai frowned harder.

"Gotz? The wood cutter?" he shifted about in his seat and gave the man a curious stare. "What do you mean they ran him out of town."

"apparently they think he was the one who kidnapped her. He skipped out on town the night she disappeared. Came back two or three days later and found his home had been ransacked by Duke and the rest of the men of the town. Duke found Popuri's hairbow sitting on the kitchen table in Gotz's house. The old carpenter swore up and down that he hadn't even seen popuri that day she disappeared. He said he found the hair bow by the old spring and took it for safe keeping." the farmer shrugged and shook his head. "if you ask me the evidence was as clear as day…he's a big guy…he wouldn't have a problem carrying off a girl as small as popuri was…really she's as light as a feather, I'm sure." Kai blinked and shifted his gaze to the floor.

"Gotz…..it…it doesn't make sense though. I mean…I only come here for the summer, but I have a very hard time believing he could harm a damn fly. He's a sweet man."

"I don't know Kai….I mean…stranger things have happened, you know." the sailor closed his eyes and let out an exhausted sigh. He stood to his feet and shook his head.

"it still doesn't make much sense man…But listen, it's been a long and…exhausting trip. I think I'm going to go on to the Inn….Get some rest, you know?" Terry stood as well and patted the man on the arm.

"you go on man. I'll talk with you later." Kai said a short goodbye and headed out the door. His eyes casually darted around the farm. It looked worn down…barren. The last time he had seen this field, it was loaded with vegetables and crops of all sorts. It was promising and fertile. Now it looked like a wasteland. "I can't…seem to grow much these days…s'been a rough few months….fall seemed the worst…since popuri had disappeared, most of my days were spent with the rest of the men looking for her. We searched as far as a valley springs….we couldn't find her anywhere." Kai turned to look at the farmer and gently patted him on the arm.

"don't worry, we'll find her…I will find her. I'll make sure of it." with those words still fresh in his mind, he headed out towards the inn. More people were out now, he spotted gray and mary talking with each other. Gray gave him a suspicious stare and a slight nod, while mary said nothing but gave a slight smile. Gray usually came by his place and ordered some food. They used to sit and have long talks about their days in the city…he was a pretty cool guy…for some reason kai had the feeling that those days were going to be cut short. He had nothing to hide, no reason to feel like he had done something wrong…but for some reason he was starting to feel like an outcast. Quickly he made his way to the inn, and pushed the door open.


	3. Chapter 3

Right away he spotted Ann cleaning off tables. She glanced up at him, and her confused stare immediately turned warm and friendly. Well, at least someone was happy to see him.

"Kai." he gave a soft smile and headed towards her, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a hug.

"hey girl."

"What are you doing back? Summer isn't for another month!" Kai grinned and gave a slight shrug.

"I know I am well aware just…I was…worried about popuri." Ann's eyes darted from kai to the floor and she bit her lower lip. "She's…missing. I already know….I came to look for her." Ann turned around and hugged her arms.

"I thought maybe….I-I mean I was hoping she…was with you…kai." she turned back around with worry in her bright blue eyes. "I was hoping she was…" Kai could only shake his head as the girl looked the other way. She started walking going back to cleaning tables. Popuri and Ann were pretty good friends. He knew that. They used to have sleep overs in the room next to his, and all he could hear was a bunch of giggles and shushing noises from their idle chitchat. He felt bad for Ann. Worse now than he had earlier. "She'll come back though…I mean…I know she will." Ann didn't sound too confident with her words, but it seemed like she was trying to keep up all the hope she could manage. She glanced up to him and bit her lip. "she will…I'm not giving up that someone is going to find her…" always so determined, that's what he liked about ann best. He gave a soft smile and walked over to her, placing his hand on her head and messing with her red hair.

"heh, I wont give up either squirt." the girl sniffled and gave a soft giggle then pushed his arm away.

"stop it, you ass." he grinned and adjusted his bandana. "do you want anything to eat?" he sat down and nodded.

"sure. Give me the special please." ann nodded and hurried back towards the kitchen, coming back with a hot plate full of steak, rice and vegetables. He started eating quickly, not realizing how hungry he was until he took that first bite. Ann sat down and grinned as she watched him eat.

"well don't kill yourself I promise no one is going to steal your food mister." kai continued to eat though slowed his pace, still finishing it up pretty fast. He talked with ann awhile, just asking her questions on how she had been and how her father was. He steered away from the topic of popuri for a while, though she never got off his mind for a second. There was no point in making Ann worry. After all, it had been two months of worry already. She was probably exhausted of the topic. Once he finished off his food, he headed up the stairs to lay down. He fell to the bed in a heavy slump and closed his eyes. Popuri's beautiful smile flashed through his mind, and already the sailor felt his body trembling. Tears began stinging the corners of his eyes and he cleared his throat trying to keep them from coming. He didn't cry often. It wasn't his style…but he was tired. It'd been a long day, and the question that he feared and answer from was still heavy in his mind. What if he never saw her again?

His mind began to wander as his eye lids felt heavy. Soon enough, the boy was asleep dreaming of the young girl almost instantly. Her beautiful ruby red eyes flashing with excitement each time she saw him. His thoughts creeped into a memory that spread across his dreams with ease. And he found himself standing by the goddess pond with the little girl sitting beside him pulling petals out of the pink cat flower he had given her. This was a fond memory. She had just turned fourteen that day and he was nearly seventeen at the time. At the time, she seemed like such a kid. Even if she was but three years younger than he was.

"Kai do you believe in the harvest goddess?" she asked with a smile spread across her soft pudgy face. Her long pink hair was in curls and dressed in white flowers all the way down to her back. Karen and Ann had helped her put them in earlier and she was dressed in her party dress from earlier. Popuri looked so beautiful that day, and even though earlier on she was squealing like a little girl from all the birthday presents she had received, now she was all too mature…or at least trying to be. Popuri was never much of a mature girl, but that's what he liked about her. She was childish, but in a cute way.

"Can't say for sure." Kai had mumbled almost involuntarily. He shifted about to stare at the spring in silence. Kai didn't really believe in the harvest goddess. He couldn't say for sure what he believed. Just knew that in all of his travels over seas he never saw a woman sleeping in the water.

"Karen believes in her. She says that she used to sit here for hours trying to figure out if she was real." they both drew quiet.

"well do you believe in her?"

"I don't know either….I think I do though." Popuri drew her hands to her chest and clapped them together as if she were praying. "I think she's probably beautiful though. More beautiful than even the prettiest flowers! I wish I was that beautiful." as she spoke the roaring of what sounded like heavy waterfalls started filling up his skull. He tried to speak but the sudden image of bloody water started seeping in his head and he a loud SPLASH. He sat up quickly and looked around hearing the bath water running. Kai frowned and pulled himself out of the blankets, heading to the shower to see no one there. Ann probably started it up for him before she started cleaning. He shrugged and pulled the shirt off his back getting ready for the shower.

It was warm and comfortable, quite nice for such a chilly morning. It probably wasn't as cold as the sailor had made it out to be, but fifty degree weather was freezing when you were used to eighty degrees at the least. After the shower, he forced himself out of the tub and grabbed some fresh clothes from his suitcase trying not to think too hard at the dream he had had. His mind wandered on what he should do. The trip would be a waste if he just left for another town. It'd take a few weeks to get there, three or four days to set up….and then a week and a half later, he'd be forced to head to another town. He'd already lost all his profit there…nothing to do now but waste money sleeping here, maybe open up shop early, most definitely look for popuri. If Gotz kidnapped her, why did he take her into another town? And most importantly what was his reason for coming back? What the hell would he do with popuri? It just didn't make any sense. She wouldn't have ran away…and she wouldn't go anywhere on her own anyway. Popuri was a good girl…she didn't get herself into too much trouble. So what could've possibly happened. He was two months too late to search for clues. Any evidence that could have possibly led to what happened would be gone by now. But he could still ask around. Something told him the goddess spring would be the best place to sit and think, so that's exactly where he went.

Heading out early, the brisk air nearly stung his lungs. He just wasn't used to this type of weather. His mind wrapped around getting a coat but he was already half way through town. At seven in the morning, the town was quiet. Almost like a ghost town. Most shops didn't open up until ten thirty anyway. He headed out towards the spring and sat down by the water fall. he remembered this place used to be absolutely beautiful, but now the spring seemed so….eerie. Almost as if it had a secret. "do you know what happened to popuri?" the question was for no one in particular of course, but kai still held his breath as if waiting for an answer. The wind stirred and sent chills up his spine and he almost swore that he heard something. It was faint almost sounded like a voice, but when a sudden gush of wind nearly blew him over into the spring, the sailor stood to his feet and backed away into the mines. "ughh," it was freezing…he was NOT going to let the wind knock him over like that. He shook the chills from his body and started back out into the spring to look around. "I thought spring weather was supposed to be warm." he grumbled under his breath as he headed down the hill. The wind stopped stirring as he entered the woods and it felt like he was being pulled back, though he kept walking. A soft moan of the wind caused chills to surge up his spine. This was too disturbing to deal with right now. Kai made his way through the woods and out towards Gotz's place. It looked like a mess. The windows were broken and the door was half off the hinges. His eyes darted about and he stepped closer towards the building. "where is Gotz right now?" he questioned aloud, not expecting an answer. Unfortunate for him, the person behind him didn't know this.

"probably a few towns from here." Kai jumped and turned around quickly spotting Karen standing before him. Her bright eyes were starring at him with curiosity as she crossed her arms. "what are you doing here? You do know it's not summer right?" Kai found himself loss for words. He stuttered a soft 'well' and then shrugged giving the girl a sheepish grin.

"I was….worried. Popuri didn't answer any of my letters." Karen's smile dropped almost instantly and she bowed her head. this excuse was getting old fast. Maybe he should round up everyone in the town and just say that to them as a reason he was here. So that he could stop seeing all these depressed as hell faces.

"I knew she wasn't with you…" she muttered with almost a disgusted grumble. She glanced up to Kai who was looking concerned. "Gotz didn't do it you know…I know he didn't." she started walking towards the old house. "I spent years coming here…on rainy days, on Sundays…days that I felt sad or lonely. I'd come down here to Gotz's place and we'd talk for hours about just anything. Never once did he lay a hand on me or make me feel uncomfortable…"

"What made them think it was him?" Kai asked feeling a bit disturbed. He knew karen pretty well. She was a very honest, outspoken girl. And she cared for popuri more than anyone here. She was like her sister, or more like her mother. She took care of her and popuri's family. She was strong…and when karen thought some one was being wronged…she did everything in her power to right it.

"Duke….I will never speak to him again for what he's done. He, doug, saibara, Basil and even my own father…they gained up on him, told him that if he was going to go around hurting little girls then he wasn't allowed in this town. They almost arrested him, but officer Harris said there wasn't enough evidence….I remember that night he was accused he was nearly in tears." she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, turning back to Kai with anger smeared all over her features. "People he knew and loved…people he cared about and took care of his whole life…forced him out of his home and turned their backs on him the moment something goes wrong. He had to be escorted out of town the night after they trashed his house looking for popuri…the only clue they could find was her hair bow…but it was enough evidence in THEIR books to call him dirty, awful words." kai lowered his head, listening to Karen's story. It made him sick to his stomach just hearing it. Her anger seemed to raise tension in the air. Tension that made it almost impossible to breathe.

"but you don't believe it then…I mean…it's not enough proof to you?" he asked just really trying to keep her talking. Karen shook her head and brushed the hair from her face.

"Gotz wouldn't hurt anything. He is a decent man. He's more of a man than the assholes in this damn town…" she shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I still can't believe my own father was so blindly talked into it."

"well…I'm sure he was worried for his daughter…" kai responded quietly. Karen blinked and then gave a soft nod. Kai started walking, though followed a blind path. He didn't really know where he was going, just knew that standing around Gotz's place wasn't going to help him out. Karen followed, but he didn't mind. He actually quite liked the company.

"Rick said for a long time that popuri was just with you. I told him that if that was the case, she'd have written a letter….she'd have left a note or something…or at least said goodbye first." Kai nodded and shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"Popuri is a bit forward but she'd have never left without some sort of goodbye…we were actually talking about leaving honestly…but her father was coming home." He glanced down at the girl as they headed into town. "she wanted to see him. I couldn't just take her with me knowing he was returning."

"that's what I told Rick…Manna keeps talking, said she probably either ran off with you or found herself another boyfriend to run off with…I know she doesn't mean to talk like that, she's just bored really, but when she walked into the shop I wanted to smack her across the face." the sailor stifled a chuckle and shook his head. Karen was pretty spunky. "I almost did, but instead I politely told her to mind her own damn business. She seemed guilty enough at the time but I know she's still talking."

"she does like to talk. But around here, you have to be careful about what you say." Karen nodded and looked around.

"speaking of talk….have you heard about Carter?" the sailor blinked and shook his head.

"the priest?"

"He's talking about moving…says he's giving up the church and heading out of town." a frown spread across the old sailors face as he listened to her. Her eyes suspiciously darted about. "Carter has been getting sick lately. He wont come out of his church on most days, and has stopped preaching. He says the goddess isn't with us anymore. Says something happened in the water." images of the dream kai had the night before flashed into his head, causing a migraine. He groaned and held his temples feeling them pulsing and throbbing against his finger tips. "Kai, are you alright?" he nodded though that nearly made him sick as a dog.

"y-yeah just…just have to sit down a minute." the migraine forced him to sit and he leaned against the bench holding his head. "goddess, that hurts."

"I'll get you something to drink." karen rushed into the shop and came out quickly with a glass of water. He took it and drank pretty fast, though could only taste iron in the liquid. He frowned and swished it around in his mouth, then swallowed heavy.

"this taste awful." he grumbled pouring the water on the sidewalk.

"it's only water, Kai." Karen muttered quietly.

"it doesn't stop it from tasting any worse." the boy mumbled as karen sat down beside him. "ugh my head is killing me." He wasn't sure what was going on, just knew that he was feeling terrible. His head still spun but it seemed to be dying down now. "think I'm going to be sick."

"Where did this come from? You were fine a minute ago."

"I don't know…it just sort of happened." he grumbled standing up. "I think I'm alright now." Karen frowned but gave a soft nod.

"Maybe you should get some rest anyway. It has been quite a change in weather. I'm sure you're not used to this." Kai wanted to tell her it wasn't the weather but he wasn't sure himself. Something didn't feel right, that's all he knew.

"I probably should…" he started to walk slowly down the street hearing Karen telling him to be careful. He had no idea where he was going really, but the boy found himself in front of the old church. It looked different. The stained glass windows no longer had a shine to them and the steps hadn't been swept off. He started for the church, but stopped when his head hurt too much to carry on. Turning back towards the inn, the man decided to head on back and get some rest. It was a hell of a week already, and only day two. He just wish he knew what was in store for him.


	4. Chapter 4

The inn was bustling with excitement and noise when kai entered through the doors. It was odd to see this many people out so late honestly. From what Kai could remember, everyone fell asleep just as the sun went down. He guessed things were different in the spring.

He spotted Terrance up by the bar, a large glass of whiskey on hand that he was sipping on. It was quite a sight actually. Apparently Terry still didn't know how to drink.

Kai dragged himself to the bar and sat down beside the farmer before patting him on the shoulder. "hey man." Terry's eyes widened when he looked in his direction and the blush of the afternoon buzz spread across his nose.

"kai!" Kai had to hold his hand to his ear to stop the boy from shouting directly into it. How much had he actually been drinking? He grinned when the farmer leaned against him and wrapped an arm around his neck mostly to keep himself supported.

"you ok man? You look a little um-"

"ah, it's just a little buzz. I am OK though, A Ok" At this, kai listened to his friend snort a laugh. He shook his head, now remembering how much of a headache he had. Still, it would be rude to just head on up the stairs without even talking to Terry. His eyes quickly skimmed the bar, seeing duke drunkenly chatting with jeff, basil sitting beside them, and zack sitting alone in the back of the bar with his nose in his cup, his eyes bloodshot. Everyone except duke looked grim. He didn't blame them.

"so I talked to karen. She doesn't believe that Gotz has anything to do with popuri's disappearance." Kai made sure to speak softly. He didn't want any extra attention. Terry looked down at the glass, just swishing his beverage around until it splashed out of the cup and onto his fingers. "I'm with her to be honest. I mean…I'm only around here in the summer time but….Gotz never troubled me. I don't know man, don't you ever just get bad vibes from people just because they're not good people?"

Terry nodded, gripped ahold of the glass and swayed in his chair to face him. "yeah." he took another sip of his drink and twisted his face, turning his nose up and making a gurgled grunt. "gross." Kai chuckled at the scene. He had to be honest, it felt good to laugh again. Even if it was weakened by his lack of energy.

The bar seemed to get a little louder now, duke's laughter was roaring through the bar. Kai averted his eyes from his friend to give a weary stare in their direction. The old man was laughing loudly and slamming his hand into the back of Jeff whose face was contorted into one of pure agony. Kai breathed out slow, trying to keep his cool.

"Speaking of that bad vibe…" He heard terry grumble under his breath and nodded in agreement. Duke was someone he didn't want to meet alone in the middle of the night. He turned back to the farmer and pulled his purple bandana off of his head before brushing his fingers through his dark brown hair.

"you can't tell me that you believe duke over gotz, right?" Terry shrugged and sucked on his lower lip. "that guy fixed up your barn, I mean…he's a big guy but so is Zack. So is duke. Compared to Popuri, any one of these guys is big enough to harm her." the thought that popuri could be harmed was one that had not left his lips until that moment. And he could tell from the farmer's reaction that it had been the first time someone dared say something after the Gotz incident. He furrowed his brow and scrunched up his nose. Besides the laughter from the drunken old man in the corner, kai felt the bar grow unusually quiet. His eyes darted back to zack, and he leaned in closer to his friend. "what's with him, anyway?"

Terry looked back to zack as well, and turned back to the bar as fast as possible just waving a hand off in his direction. "Bah, he's been like this since Popuri's dad came into town. Doesn't even say hey to me anymore. Just gets my shipment and goes to the bar and drinks and drinks and-" he poured a heavy amount of liquor into his mouth and gurgled the last word, swallowing as much as he could and groaning. "god I hate this stuff."

"then why are you drinking it?" kai mumbled, now noticing zack's eyes catching his. He looked away from him quickly, not wanting to make a scene. He didn't need to explain why he was staring at him. After all, how could you explain to someone that you were suspicious of them?

"I bought it. don't want it to go to waste." Terry pushed the cup over to kai's direction and quickly ordered a water with some bread. Seemed like he wanted to sober up a bit. Kai grabbed the drink and looked to terry who was drinking the water up like a fish.

"I'll finish this up for you so it doesn't go to waste." he wasn't the one to pass up a free drink. Taking a gulp of the liquor, kai then set the glass down and leaned into talk lower. "zack goes up and down the streets everyday…he goes up the mountain, all over the beach." he didn't want to suspect the man. In all honesty, the idea of zack harming popuri was as farfetched as gotz. But he wasn't trying to put zack in the spotlight. He was only trying to get terry to doubt his previous beliefs. He needed someone to think like he did, to think like karen did. He needed someone to believe enough to help him. He knew karen was already on board. She'd help where she could. She'd get in town and listen to the idle gossip if he asked her. But he needed terrence to help as well…for reasons he couldn't explain not even to himself. He trusted him. Terry furrowed his brow and pushed his lips together.

"Zack?" he spoke loudly, but kai quickly shushed him before anyone could hear them. "you suspect zack?" the farmer merely whispered this time before stuffing a roll into his mouth.

"Zack, or duke, or even Thomas." Kai hissed as he scooted his chair closer to terry's. "Hell, everyone in this whole damn town is a suspect to me. The thought of Popuri being kidnapped or hurt by anyone in this town makes my blood boil. I couldn't believe anyone would do something to hurt her before leaving, but now the only thought on my mind is that any one in the whole town should be a suspect." Kai's voice became low when he added "anyone but you of course." he spoke with sincerity, and he could tell that it caught the farmer off guard. Terrence caught his gaze and lowered his glass before giving kai a very pleasant smile.

"you don't suspect me?"

Kai didn't know how to answer that. But in all honesty, he didn't. Terrence was…different. He felt a trust for him that he didn't feel for anyone else…not in this town or anywhere. But hell if he was going to let him know that. He didn't need terry getting the wrong ideas. Quickly, he averted his gaze to the floor and brushed his fingers through his hair. "You said it yourself…that you were getting fodder in the same day as popuri's disappearance right? That rules you and barley out, considering you two have alibi's." Terry grinned wide and gave a short nod.

"and you have one too. Popuri was still with me the day you left." Kai grinned at how quickly the farmer responded. It felt nice to have someone like terry trusting you. He was about to say a short thanks but suddenly the laughter that was filling the bar quickly turned into roaring shouts of abuse. Kai and Terrence quickly gave their attention to duke who had pushed the table and his chair over and was now screaming at the top of his lungs.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING TELL ME WHEN I'VE HAD ENOUGH YOU OVER GROWN PILE OF SHIT!" Kai wasn't sure who his anger was directed towards, but jeff was holding his stomach and basil was trying to calm him down.

"look duke, we're just saying that manna is probably worried about you. You need to get home and get some rest." Duke scowled and then turned to basil to growl and tell him to mind his own business. While doug disappeared from the bar to go assist in the uproar, kai stood up and tugged on terry's sleeve.

"let's go upstairs." they could talk in his room. It would be nice there. He hurried up the stairs, making sure that terry followed before closing the door after the farmer. Quickly he made a place for the two of them to sit at the table and sat down with his friend right beside him. "now, I don't think gotz did it. I really don't. did you see the way duke is when he gets angry or drunk? How do we know that he didn't do something to popuri and then just covered his own ass." these were kai's first words and he could already see that terry was expecting him to say something else. What that was he wasn't sure, but he wanted to get to the point. "the truth is that there are a ton of people to suspect, and with you helping me, we can get to the bottom of it." he smiled when terry nodded and then grabbed a piece of paper and pen. "we need to write a list of everyone in the village and their connections to popuri. We need answers, we need alibi's and we need to find out the truth."


	5. Chapter 5

Kai and terry stayed up half the night trying to piece together any clues that they could have forgotten. They started with making a list of people they could investigate and went from there. By three o'clock in the morning, they were exhausted and kai had felt as though they were worse off than when they started. He could tell that it would be useless to continue with the way Terrence looked as he was fighting sleep.

"you should probably go ahead and get some sleep, Terry." Kai muttered as he rubbed the sleep from his dark brown eyes. His friend was two nods away from dreaming.

"nah, man. I'm-" He cut off his sentence with a long yawn and stood up to stretch. Kai smirked and leaned back in his chair just watching him.

"go on off to sleep. I'm sure your animals are going to be upset in the morning if you don't wake up to feed them." he stood up and ran his fingers through his hair before looking over at the extra bed. It was odd to see that Cliff hadn't returned. They had shared a room in the summer time after all. He mentally noted that. It would be a good question for the boy if he ever became suspicious. "I'm sure Cliff wouldn't mind if you used his bed if you want so sleep in here." after all, it was dangerous around town.

"oh no, nah that's fine, no." The farmer quickly rejected the offer, just shaking his head. Kai raised an eyebrow and twisted his mouth to the side, but then released a wide smile and moved to the bed.

"it's cool man, it was only a suggestion. I'll see you later, yah?" He nodded when Terry gave a short good bye and then made his way to change out of his clothes and get ready for bed. After he crawled under the covers, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

He dreamt of water again, only this time he was completely emerged in it. His first instinct was to start swimming, but the water felt as thick as mud and it was too dark to see up from down. As he tried to escape drowning, he felt something latching onto his legs. Looking down, he saw her. Popuri. She was as pale as a ghost and her eyes were clouded over. Blood dripped from her mouth, and when she opened it to speak, her cheeks began to break apart as if she were rotting away.

The sound that escaped her lips was nothing short of horrific. It sounded like an attempt to scream, but her throat was full of water. The gurgling, high pitched attempt vibrated through the water and she began to claw her way up his legs which only dragged him down further. Kai started to kick and swim, but the harder he tried to escape from her grip, the more difficult it became. Suddenly the water turned black, and though he could still feel the woman's arms around him, he could no longer see her. He tried to move, but his body was no longer working. He felt heavy, weighed down like he was filled with lead. Just as he was about to give up, a soft green light appeared in front of him. And from that light, a woman with skin just as pale as popuri's and very soft green hair. Her presence reminded him of a gentle spring morning. She made him feel incredibly comforted, safe. As she relaxed her arms around him, the woman leaned in towards him and opened her mouth. She then spoke in a voice that sounded like the wind over top of the mountain.

"come to the spring. To the spring-"

Kai opened his eyes to find that he'd only been asleep for an hour. Just as he was sitting up, he heard the door slam and he looked over to see Cliff standing in the doorway. The boy looked soaked to the bone, and his face was grim. Cliff usually looked pretty grim to begin with. He looked up from his feet and gave kai a confused look.

"o-oh did I wake you?" he looked guilt ridden. Kai just shook his head and smiled.

"no man. A bad dream did though." Watching cliff go to grab a towel from the bathroom, he just laid back in the bed and looked outside. It was pouring down rain, and the wind was banging against the window. The storm outside sounded bad. "must have been from the storm. Where the hell did this weather come from?" Cliff only shrugged and began drying off his wet hair. He was quiet, but what was strange about that? Kai just watched him roll onto his bed and kick off his shoes. "getting back kind of late…any reason why?" He didn't want to sound suspicious…but It wasn't like cliff.

"Carter and I got to talking, lost track of time." He replied with a very tired grumble. Kai didn't ask anything more. He just closed his eyes again, waiting for cliff to fall asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Cliff was already gone by the time kai woke up. He crawled out of bed and quickly hurried to take a shower. Then after changing, he hurried down the stairs to see Terry already sitting at the table. He was half way through eating a large breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast with jam, and some grits on the side. It all looked good enough, but kai wasn't very hungry right now. He moved to sit down beside the farmer and leaned against the table.

"you're here early."

Terry nodded and took another bite of his eggs. "I don't know how to cook. So Doug and I have made a compromise. I bring ingredients over, and he cooks them for me." that was the saddest thing he'd ever heard. Kai just smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't know you couldn't cook." he muttered just watching the farmer shrug.

"maybe I could in another life. But as of this one, I do not have a knack for it." he put his fork down and pushed himself away from the table before standing up to stretch. "I also wanted to get a head start with you. I know you don't have your shop opened or anything…by the way, what are you doing for cash nowadays?" Kai gritted his teeth and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"well, I had a little bit of cash on me." he spent most of it on the room, and sometimes if there was extra food on hand, there were complimentary breakfasts. However, with the way this week had been going, he wasn't very hungry. He didn't actually know the last time he got something to eat. "why, are you wanting me to open up shop again?" he wasn't doing it until Popuri was found….hopefully safe and sound. The farmer shook his head and patted Kai on the shoulder.

"No man. I was just worried about you. Look, I know you probably don't want to stay here all spring…but I figure if you're running low on cash or something, you can stay with me. I don't have an extra room, but it beats paying for a place to stay." it was a kind offer. And honestly, it was one he probably would have to take up here in a couple of days. He expected the trip to be short. But then again, he also expected popuri to be here. Just watching Ann come over to clear off the table, he greeted her and looked around for cliff. He was probably still at the church…and the way Karen was talking, that is probably a good place to start.

"Well, I still have a little bit of money. And Doug and Ann are good to me. Let me get back to you on that. Hey are you done with all of your work? I would like to go investigating if that's ok." Terry nodded and waved a short good bye to ann. Kai did the same and together, they headed out of the inn and down the street. "I figure we can check out the church first. Karen said that Carter has been talking about leaving town." he'd like to see if that was true.

The two headed towards the church as fast as they could. From the outside, it looked dreary and abandoned. Kai quickly headed for the doors and opened them up. The church was dark, all of the candles were blown out and the carpet was a mess. Months of refusing to sweep and take proper care of it probably wore it down. Kai heard mumbling in the back of the church. It was faint and hard to hear, which only made everything creepier. He glanced back to terry who was looking concerned. "has anyone been checking on carter?" terry shrugged and scratched the back of his head. From previous conversations, Kai learned that Terry was not a religious man. At least, not in this life. In a past life, he might have been a priest. But he'd never once stepped foot in a church. Kai didn't expect him to check this place out, but in the back of his mind, he wanted to curse the farmer for being such an ignorant fool. The whole town should have been searching everywhere for popuri.

Looking back to the back room, kai started walking towards the sound of the mumbling and knocked on the back room. "Carter? You in there?" silence. Kai paused for a second and then knocked again, this time a little louder. "It's Kai and Terry."

"Kai?" the door opened and out came Carter. Or well, a poor image of the man Carter used to be. Age had caught up with him in the past couple of months. His brown hair no longer had much shine to it, and he was looking rather thin and sickly. He had dark bags underneath his eyes and when he spoke, he sounded very weak. "It's not summer already, is it?" He gave a tired laugh and rubbed his forehead as if he were sweating. Kai frowned hard and crossed his arms.

"you don't look so hot." He stated, moving out of the way so that Carter could sit down at one of the pews.

"I was up all night talking with Cliff. He had questions and thought I could help." Well, Cliff wasn't lying. "what are you doing here so early in the spring?"

"I want to investigate Popuri's disappearance. I'm sure you've heard from all over town that the rumors of her running of with me were nothing but." He watched Carter nod but remain expressionless. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing, but he figured Carter had already heard this before. "We wanted to start here. I know it's a bit late asking questions, but-"

"It's never too late to ask questions. At least you are asking instead of making blind accusations." Carter patted the seat to allow the two of them to sit down. "ask me whatever you like."

kai nodded and sat down, just facing the priest. He didn't know where to begin. Popuri used to always talk about coming here to the church on Sundays. She always wanted him to come with her, but he was never a church going man. He didn't think Carter had anything to do with her disappearance, but he did have to know if the rumors were true. "Karen said you were thinking about leaving…is that true?" It was hot in this church, Kai felt a bead of sweat already rolling down his forehead.

"Is that what everyone is saying? Well, I guess in small towns like this, everyone likes to talk." It was just like a priest to answer a question without answering the damn question. Kai shifted his gaze towards Terry who was wiping his forehead and taking off his hat. It was good to know that he wasn't the only one feeling the temperature rising in this place.

"So is it true?" Terry questioned, giving Carter a suspicious stare.

"Is that really so important? I thought the questions would be about Popuri. Not about my future." Kai just gritted his teeth and lowered his head slightly, turning his gaze to the floor.

"We just want to separate the facts from rumors. The more truth we have, the easier this is going to make. If you aren't going to leave, then why would everyone say that you are going to. And if you are going to leave, then why does that even feel like an option to you?" He scratched his head and looked back up to the priest. Carter seemed to understand. He breathed in and let it out in a very brief sigh.

"It's the truth."

Kai lowered his head, feeling his gut sink. He didn't know or even understand why this response made him feel so empty. Maybe it is because this place felt like a home to him once…and now it was starting to tear itself apart. He remained quiet as he waited for Carter to continue. He needed an answer.

"After Popuri disappeared, I started having dreams…well nightmares…nightmares of water-" Hearing Carter's trembling voice, Kai gasped and looked up to him. He was shaking, trying to remain calm but failing miserably. Kai glanced to Terry who looked as shocked as he did. Could it be that they had the same dream?

"These dreams…did they tell you anything?" Terry questioned. Carter looked up to him with wide eyes, but he didn't speak. Kai bit his lip and tried to remember the dream from the night before. Popuri was in it…or a ghost of popuri. There was also something else. Something he'd forgotten. He'd woken up saying it the night before…but what the hell was it!?

Suddenly the flash of the woman from his dream appeared in his head. He could see her mouthing words, but no words were coming out. He couldn't make out what they were, but the heat from the church had suddenly been drained. He felt colder than ice. Kai shuddered and rubbed his arms a bit, glancing to terry who was giving him a very worried look.

"you cold dude?"

"wasn't a minute ago." he could swear that he could see his breath when he talked, though judging from the looks that he was receiving from Carter and Terry, maybe it was just his imagination. "D-did you happen to see popuri the day she disappeared?" He figured it was about time he get to the point. This was why they were here to begin with.

Carter shook his head and looked down at his feet. "She never comes to the church in the summer time. I assumed she was with you on the day that you left. You see, I do not see Popuri unless she comes to the church so I did not think it was too strange. When she went missing, I was unaware that anything was going on. Cliff and I were talking, I was teaching him some of the words of the Goddess, and before I knew what was going on, the Doctor was pushing the kids inside the church and asking me to look out for them." Kai glanced to Terry and gave a soft sigh. Well, if he was telling the truth then there would be no need to further the investigation. He also had alibi's.

"thanks anyway." Kai stood up and adjusted his bandana. He said a quick good bye to carter and headed out of the church with Terry not far behind him. When they walked outside, the church doors closed almost instantly. Kai didn't look back, just assuming that Carter really was done talking to him. He glanced to Terry and bit his lower lip. "I've been having dreams too…nightmares about water." The farmer's eyes widened in surprise and he snapped his mouth shut. It was a strange response, but he chose to ignore it. If Terry wanted to talk, he would. Kai was never one to push something out of someone he trusted.

"Where to now? Shall we ask more questions?" Terry finally asked. Kai nodded and scratched his head.

"it would be a good idea. We could start with the hospital and go down the street." At this Terry seemed to grow pale and shake his head.

"Maybe we should split up or something…You go down the hospital strip and I'll head over to the inn and outer areas of town….Cover more ground that way." Kai frowned hard and crossed his arms over his chest. Ok, now Terry was acting a little suspicious.

"Any reason why, dude?" The farmer bowed his head like a kid in trouble and kicked his feet a bit.

"I uh…I have a phobia of hospitals dude…." At this, the sailor grinned as wide as he could unable to help it from the expression on his friends face.

"never a doctor in a previous life, man?" He questioned as more of a playful joke. Terry only laughed and pulled his hat from his head.

"Never was, never will be. I hate them more than anything."

Kai had to agree. Splitting up and covering more ground would do them some good. Quickly, the two of them split and he headed straight to the doctors office.


End file.
